The Back Story
by Teej
Summary: A drabble history for DI LEstrade for things hinted at in A Dish Served Cold
1. Prologue

This will be the introduction to this series of drabbles I am planning on posting and an explanation as to what is happening.

In my fic, A Dish Served Cold, I had established quite a bit of back ground to explain some of Lestrade's history prior to meeting Sherlock and eventually John. That would be how he met his wife, and their subsequent marital troubles. In the story Lestrade told John they had met at a private viewing of the London Eye in December of 1999 and five months later he proposes to her. During the next five years they separated due to conflicting work schedules that were driving them apart but they remained married. Sherlock enters the picture as established by Lestrade in the episode, A Study In Pink.

What I am about to post here is some of the events that occurred to Lestrade, his wife, and the introduction of the Holmes' brothers into that life, through a series of drabbles. I am doing this because of an inability to write and huge lack of encouragement to write. I do have a half-written story for Lestrade meeting Anne on the London Eye and I also have a half written sequel to A Dish Served Cold, neither of which has budged on iota in far too long a time.

Lestrade, however, will not shut up and in my own attempt to get some things written and to get some of his history out of my head, I asked another FF.N writer, one KCS, if I could use one of her 100 word prompt tables to help me get past this rut, if indeed that is what I am in.

The first fifty odd drabbles (and some extra) deal with Lestrade and his wife previous to meeting Sherlock. The remaining fifty deals with his meeting Mycroft, then Sherlock. There are a very few towards the end that are post The Reichenbach Fall, but there are no spoilers involved.

Each one of these little things is 100 words long and I apologize for the spamming of peoples in-boxes as this first batch goes up.


	2. Shiver

Author's note: I am using KCS's drabble Prompt Table #1with her kind permission so before each drabble you will see the word prompt and its location on the table.

**Shiver (52)**

Lestrade gripped Anne's hand as they stepped off the bus and immediately they ducked their heads as the deluge caught them at last. They still had quite a walk to reach his place and both knew they'd be soaked by the time they got there. Lestrade glanced at Anne, feeling her shiver in spite of her brave smile. Walking briskly in an effort to keep warm she drew closer to him which made him acutely aware of her presence; she was seeking him for warmth. Happy to oblige, he slid his arm over her shoulders, pulling her nearer to him.


	3. Embrace

**Embrace (16) **

Lestrade abruptly pulled her under an awning lit by a lone street light, gently turning her around to face him, holding her close. Anne looked at him curiously.

"You're freezing," he said, searching her eyes, his hands sliding up her back to gently cup her face. Her cheeks were pink with the cold and wet.

"I'm always freezing..." she said softly. There was an intense look in Lestrade's dark eyes as she hesitantly set her hands on his chest.

"I'll warm you up," he murmured and there, in the London rain, they made their first embrace.


	4. Love

**Love (39)**

He had known for some time, this was the girl he loved. When they parted, Anne's face had flushed and she ducked her head, smiling shyly as he tightened his arms around her. Circumstances had fallen into place around them, he knew Anne had been placed in his path for a reason. He was determined not to waste the opportunity. He tilted her head up again, one thumb stroking water away from her cheek.

"I'm in love, you know... " he said, gently catching her lip with his own.

She smiled at him and murmured, "Me too."


	5. The Cemetery Part 1

Author's Note: The prompt for Cemetery in KCS's prompt table suddenly developed a life of its own... scary considering it takes place in a cemetery, yeah? 17 drabbles later I had this...

**Cemetery (37)**

Capitalizing on a rare event in their admittedly short relationship, Lestrade and Anne traveled to a destination that he teased her about by not revealing.

Therefore, Anne was delighted when they made their way to Portsmouth, catching the ferry for Le Havre. She knew that his parents, of mixed English and French heritage, had called Le Havre a second home and that they had died untimely deaths in a tragic car accident there during his early days as a police constable. She wasn't surprised therefore when he drove to the outskirts of town to a serene and lovely small cemetery.


	6. The Cemetery Part 2

The temperature that day was mild, sunny and spring-like as they walked past a myriad of grey tombstones. The grounds were immaculate, dotted with flowers and trees, the grass freshly mowed. A serene, contemplative location. Holding Anne's hand, Lestrade led the way unerringly to an inset grave marker bearing the names of his parents.

"Haven't been here in a long time." He said quietly, gazing down at the headstone.

He had told Anne already of their passing and she knew him well enough by now to remain silent. She also knew he wasn't feeling down or morose, just contemplative.


	7. The Cemetery Part 3

Waiting patiently, she squeezed his hand reassuringly, knowing something was going on but not sure what to do.

Lestrade eyes were dark and veiled, something that occurred when he was deep in thought, making his actions and thoughts unreadable. They stood in silence and finally he glanced at her. She was gazing off over the cemetery, at the farm land surrounding the cemetery, newly ploughed for the spring. Anne looked back at him, smiling gently.

"It's lovely out here," she said.

He smiled back, before he spotted a nearby bench. Without a word he led her over to it.


	8. The Cemetery Part 4

Anne looked at him carefully, fully sensing something important was about to happen.

He turned towards her as they sat, still clutching at her hand.

"Are you all right?" She asked, studying his face.

"I'm fine, Anne..." he said. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately." He explained, seeing the concern and worry on her face. "I'm not getting any younger," he added.

"You recently turned 35, dear, that's not that old..." she teased gently.

He ducked his head a moment. Gathering his thoughts together. "That's not quite what I meant." He murmured.


	9. The Cemetery Part 5

"You're too young to be having a midlife crises..." She added and he snorted softly with amusement.

"Hardly that," He replied, glancing out over the cemetery before forcing his gaze back down to where he was clutching her hand.

"I never thought I'd be doing this..." he murmured.

Anne frowned, perplexed. "What? Bringing me to see where your parents are buried?"

Lestrade lip quirked in a lopsided smile she was intimately familiar with.

"That and..." he started, stopped, then looked at her. He swallowed and she abruptly realized he was nervous.

"Greg?" she asked.


	10. The Cemetery Part 6

He drew in a steadying breath and looked back at her. "Anne, I..." he started, paused again, then plunged forward. "I have been giving this a lot of thought. I didn't just want to bring you to France to see my parents' grave. I wanted to do this with them around. Since they really can't be here to appreciate the moment..."

Anne frowned, gazing at him. "To do what?" she asked. "What moment?"

Lestrade swallowed nervously again, forcing a smile on his lips as reached into his jacket pocket.

Anne's eyes suddenly grew wide with realization.


	11. The Cemetery Part 7

He looked at her as she gasped, staring at him as he pulled out a tiny box. "Um," he stammered, cursing silently at becoming tongue tied. Drawing in another breath, he carried on. "I've been wanting to ask you to become my wife for a while now..." he suddenly blurted. "I didn't know when or where I should ask." He held the little box up between them. He glanced at her. She had paled, in shock, staring down at the item in his hand.

She looked up at him, her mouth dropped in a gape of surprise.


	12. The Cemetery Part 8

Lestrade suddenly felt a jolt of fear, wondering if he had read their entire relationship wrong all this time from the look of surprise on her face. Her hand had flown to cover her mouth and she looked at the ring box with huge startled eyes.

"Uh..." he started, as he slid off the bench to drop to one knee before her. He gripped her hand tightly, still holding the box. "Anne, I... Would you do me the honour of marrying me?" He asked feeling suddenly self-conscious, ridiculously old fashioned. And his stomach was doing flips. He swallowed.


	13. The Cemetery Part 9

Lestrade abruptly let her hand go, fumbling with the box and holding it out to her. Anne stared at it, then at him, then back at the ring inside. She couldn't move, just staring at the box. Lestrade, fascinated by his shaking hands, fumbled again as he removed the ring before setting the box on the bench and taking her hand in his.

"Anne.." he said softly pausing until she looked at him. "Marry me?" he asked. He slipped the ring onto her finger and clutched both her hand in his, waiting. He found he suddenly couldn't breathe.


	14. The Cemetery Part 10

Anne felt the tears spring up, stinging her eyes. She dropped her hand and he could see a smile threatening to break out across her face.

"Greg!" she exclaimed, her eyes blinking furiously as laughter abruptly bubbled out of her. "You realize you're proposing in a cemetery?"

"Well, yeah..." he said, looking around then back at her again. "I just thought since my folks can't come to us I'd bring you here to them..." He dropped off, seeing the look on her face as she struggled with colliding emotions.

Was a deep hole opening under him?


	15. The Cemetery Part 11

"Look, I'll understand if you don't..." he started, "I know we've only known each other since December, but I..," he paused, seemingly helpless at what to say next. Anne grasped his hands in hers and looked at him intensely.

Her eyes studied his worried face as the depth of what he was asking and doing struck her. He had brought her all the way to France, to his parents' burial ground, a deeply personal and emotional place for him and he had just proposed to her. It was obvious he'd been thinking of this for a long time...


	16. The Cemetery Part 12

"Oh Greg!" she gasped, throwing her arms around his neck. "How can I turn this down? Of course, I'll marry you!" she cried as he wrapped his arms around her. Her laugh, mingled with tears and joy, bubbled out again. "You're proposing in a cemetery!" she laughed.

"Well it's not just any cemetery..." he rumbled, burying his face in her neck, before pulling back and looking at her.

"Of course not!" she laughed, reaching up to hold his face in her hands as tears began to roll.

He reached up to wipe a tear away.


	17. The Cemetery Part 13

So there, under a blooming crab-apple, on a sunny Spring day in a small cemetery east of Le Havre, France, Lestrade kissed his soon to be wife. For a few moments they surrendered to the hugely jumbled mix of emotions before Anne sat back, glanced at the ring on her finger before reaching up to cup his face in her hands. She lovingly studied his dark eyes, and the silvering hair at his temples, stroking his cheek thoughtfully with one thumb, a small wistful smile on her face.

"Mom's so gonna choke when she hears about this," she whispered.


	18. The Cemetery Part 14

Anne laughed, reading the look on his face before he answered her. "There is that..." he murmured in agreement.

"She thinks you're a cradle robber." Anne added..

"She thinks I'm a lot worse than that," he growled, nodding his head, eyes growing animated.

She giggled suddenly, shaking her head, staring at the small diamond ring. "So much has happened since December and now this..." she murmured.

"Yeah, well, meeting me, nearly getting assaulted by your roommate's boyfriend, moving in with me, getting proposed to... I'd say 2000 is turning out to be quite a year."


	19. The Cemetery Part 15

Anne smiled, leaning forward to kiss him before he shifted off his knee and back onto the bench. Slipping his arm over her shoulders, he pulled her close and looked over at his parent's memorial plaque. She followed his gaze, settling into the nook of his arm, listening to the hum of the bees in the tree above them.

"I wish I could've met them," she said.

"You have..." Lestrade said, "In a way. Think of it as being a bit unconventional."

Anne grew somber, twisting to look up at him. "Speaking of unconventional..." she implied.


	20. The Cemetery Part 16

He raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?

"What am I going to tell mom?" She asked.

"Tell her we're getting married." He replied easily. "She may not like me, but if you really want to marry me, we will."

"That's just it, love..." Anne replied. "Can you imagine what mom is going to be like when she realizes that I am about to get married? She _**will**_ take over the wedding plans. It will be disastrous!"

"Then maybe we'll just have to figure out something to get around her."


	21. The Cemetery Part 17

"But how? Can you imagine mom and wedding preparations?" Anne countered, shuddering in horror.

"By being unconventional. Marrying other than in the traditional, trip down the aisle, church wedding."

"Are you serious?!" she exclaimed.

"I just proposed to you in a cemetery, how much more serious do you want?" He asked.

Anne laughed, sliding an arm around him to hug him close. "Can't get more serious than that!"

"Non-traditional then..." Lestrade said firmly. "We'll figure out a way around your mum some how."

"I like it when you get sneaky," She murmured.


	22. A Marriage In Crisis Part 1

What follows this is a twenty one part drabble series called A Marriage In Crisis

**Darkness (9)**

Sitting in the darkness of his living room, Lestrade watched as rain softly pelted the balcony doors, tiny rivulets running down the glass, back lit from the street lamps below. Only the faint ticking of the clock and the rain could be heard.

A folded up advertisement for flats lay in his lap. He had found it in Anne's bag earlier in the evening and it had Anne's distinctive writing scribbled on circled ads. She'd been looking for a place to live.

How had they ended up here?

Their marriage was crumbling under the collision of two -nearly impossible- schedules.


	23. A Marriage In Crisis Part 2

**Crisis (72)**

He'd known for weeks now that events were coming to a crisis. They'd been carefully avoiding any talk of the one thing that would set them both off. The lack of any time together. More and more, it seemed, when they did have a rare opportunity to be together it ended in acrimony and recriminations.

He sighed, not seeing the patterns of the rain on the glass as his mind went over their lives together for the thousandth time. Anne's rise in the troupe of dancers and his studying for the Inspector's exams had driven a wedge further between them.


	24. A Marriage In Crisis Part 3

**Faint (23)**

And now this.

The call came to him in the middle of a new investigation. Anne had fainted after a particularly strenuous rehearsal. She hadn't responded right away to efforts to rouse her and the paramedics had been called. Lestrade had been caught between a rock and a hard place, unable to leave at a crucial point in a case and torn with the need to get to the hospital.

By the time he'd arrived it was very late. The doctor had insisted on an overnight stay and led Lestrade to the dimly lit room where Anne had been taken.


	25. A Marriage In Crisis Part 4

**Exhaustion (29)**

"It's exhaustion." The doctor explained. "Physically and mentally. Apparently she'd been complaining of a stomach ache earlier in the day." The doctor carried on, but Lestrade could only stand and look at his wife. "That's one of the symptoms..."

Anne was gaunt and pale, more grey really, and for the first time he really noticed the dark circles under her eyes. Hooked up to an intravenous drip and apparently only asleep with the help of a sedative. He barely heard what the doctor was telling him.

He blindly pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat.


	26. A Marriage In Crisis Part 5

**Weary (95)**

Weary beyond belief, Lestrade stayed with his wife until late the next day when all the paperwork, delays, instructions, etc ad nauseum, had been completed. He brought her home with very strict instructions that she was to recuperate. Rehearsals were out of the question for the time being. She was on strict rest. To bed she went.

Lestrade arranged for a few days off, then had gone to the Royal Ballet offices to explain what was happening. He had retrieved her belongings, and it was while setting her bag down inside their flat that he noticed the folded up newspaper.


	27. A Marriage In Crisis Part 6

**Grief (3)**

Which brought him to the present state of staring listlessly out of his balcony doors, grieving for a marriage that was slowly being destroyed before his eyes. He had not wanted this and he believed that she didn't either. Yet now he had found proof she was searching for somewhere else to live and had not relayed that information to him.

The thought of divorce made him feel sick to his stomach and he clamped down on the idea with a flash of uncharacteristic anger. They hadn't been married for five years yet and the thought filled him with horror.


	28. A Marriage In Crisis Part 7

**Silent (17)**

The silence in the apartment was broken when he heard the sounds of movement and he looked up to see his wife, dragging blonde hair out of her eyes, sleepily walk around the edge of the sofa. She looked haggard and tired still despite trying to sleep the exhaustion away.

His head was still propped in his hand when he looked up at her, his eyes inscrutable in the darkness of the living room. He didn't move but he could see that she had spotted the folded up newspaper still resting on his lap.

She stopped, suddenly unable to move.


	29. A Marriage In Crisis Part 8

**Shame (73)**

Her face flushed with shame and she looked away from him.

A long uncomfortable pause hung between them and when it was broken, Lestrade spoke carefully and softly. "What is happening between us?"

She couldn't speak, her face still red. He could see she was fighting back tears. Now really wasn't the time to be hashing things out but that genie had left its bottle already and was impossible to get it back in.

"Anne, what are you trying to tell me?" He asked quietly. He lifted the newspaper off his lap and held it up between them.


	30. A Marriage In Crisis Part 9

**Breathe (5)**

Anne was unable to speak, barely even able to breathe. Lestrade studied her for a moment. She had never, in the relatively short time they had known each other, ever been reluctant to speak to him.

"Anne," he whispered softly, setting the newspaper back down. He held out a hand to her, beckoning. A tear rolled down her cheek as she struggled to keep things together.

"Come on..." he whispered.

Hesitantly she set her hand in his and he gently tugged her to sit next to him. He slid his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him.


	31. A Marriage In Crisis Part 10

**Emotion (75)**

He pulled the blanket off the back of the sofa and carefully wrapped it around her shivering body. He knew she was probably both cold and struggling to contain her emotions.

"We need to talk." He murmured. She could only nod her head. Silence fell for a moment between them again as she reached over and pulled the newspaper article off his lap. It disappeared into the folds of the blanket.

"Before we do, I want you to understand one thing," he said. Anne shifted to look sadly into his face.

"I love you," he said simply.


	32. A Marriage In Crisis Part 11

**Missing (8)**

"I want you to know that. What ever is happening between us, I'll do what I can to work things out."

Her chin quivered as she struggled to not cry. "I know," she said in an achingly sad voice. "I've just been missing you..." she started but then stopped when he set his finger on her lips.

"Let's not go into that," he whispered, barely hiding the pain those words could inflict. "I know you do, I miss you as well. Something must be done though. Anne. What happened to you yesterday only emphasizes that."


	33. A Marriage In Crisis Part 12

**Motionless (87)**

"I don't want to fight, but I need to know why you're looking for a flat." Lestrade said.

Anne looked away from him becoming motionless as she searched for the words he felt sure were to come out of her.

"I've been talking with dad," she finally said, looking down at his large hands, reaching over to set her hand on his. Lestrade knew she highly valued the advice of her father so it wasn't a big surprise to know she was talking to him about her troubles. It just hurt to know she wasn't talking to him.


	34. A Marriage In Crisis Part 13

**Vicious (93)**

"He knows what's been happening and he pointed out that you and I are stuck in a vicious circle."

Lestrade paused and frowned, thinking.

"We don't see each other and when we do one or the both of us are too tired to do anything about it, then we fight and just make things worse. Around and around we go, never finding a solution."

"And he thinks finding a flat and moving out is a solution?" Lestrade asked, trying hard to keep the rancor out of his voice.

Anne sighed, looking at him, pleading in her eyes.


	35. A Marriage In Crisis Part 14

**Fear (34)**

She could see the fear in his eyes.

"It's not what you think..." she was quick to say.

"Then what? You're planning on moving out, that is obvious, all those flats are around Covent Garden."

"Yes, they are." she said simply gently gripping his hand. "Please, just listen? I've been wanting to tell you for time now but..." Lestrade heaved a sigh and finished the sentence for her.

"We haven't had the time to see each other." He reached up with his other hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut.


	36. A Marriage In Crisis Part 15

**Plead (60)**

"Please Greg, just hear me out!" Anne implored her voice breaking. "This isn't easy, I know what it looks like..."

"Looks like what?" he asked. "Like you're preparing to leave prior to asking for a divorce?"

Anne closed her eyes, dropping her head. "No, please, just listen for a minute..." she whispered, pleading with him.

"Anne, I just spent the last 24 hours sitting in a hospital because you passed out from exhaustion. You've been working, rehearsing, and searching for a flat on top of all our stresses. It's pushed you over the edge."


	37. A Marriage In Crisis Part 16

**Loss (51)**

"I don't want to lose you," he finished.

"Which is why I'm looking for a flat," she said quietly.

Lestrade frowned, looking at her in confusion.

"Something has to give. Your career is taking off and so is mine. Between my working day being so long then having to ride three Tube lines before a mile long walk home, I'm so tired that I can barely stay upright. Then you come and go. We rarely get a moment together. Yes, I _know_ we know all this," She closed her eyes at the forbidding look crossing his face.


	38. A Marriage In Crisis Part 17

**Touch (90)**

There was an aching sadness in her eyes as she reached out a hand and gently touched his cheek. "Dad suggested that if I lived closer to Covent Garden, then maybe I could get a little bit more rest so that when we do get that rare chance to see one another, we won't be so tired that we end up fighting."

A frown creased his brow as her words sank in.

"If you saw what the ads were for, they're just for studios or bedsits. Nothing more. This would still be my home." She gazed at him.


	39. A Marriage In Crisis Part 18

**Trust (92)**

"I just need another place to rest until one or both of us gets something of a normal schedule again. It's not going to be a permanent thing, Greg."

"But it involves you moving out..." he protested.

"For both our sakes. I don't want to lose you either. Divorce is the last thing I want happening to us." She looked at him, despair and pleading on her face. "Trust me on this, Greg. I don't like it either but I can't think of another way to save us."

This time she couldn't hold back her tears.


	40. A Marriage In Crisis Part 19

**Relief (66)**

She could say nothing more, just leaning into her husband and quietly begin to cry. He held her closer, heaving a sigh, resting his cheek against her head. She was utterly spent and crying was one way of releasing some of the tension, anything to get a little relief. His mind went carefully over their words, beginning to see that maybe there was something in what her father had suggested. If she were closer to the Royal Ballet she could get more rest, and the Yard was just a quick Tube line away. Faster for him to get to her.


	41. A Marriage In Crisis Part 20

**Negotiate (13)**

If it wasn't so damned much more expensive to live there he'd gladly give up his flat and move them closer. As it was, his Battersea flat was their biggest expense, adding a studio or a bedsit in Covent Garden would be hard on strained finances. But if it would help save a marriage...

It was beginning to make an odd kind of sense. Maybe something could be negotiated? Lestrade rubbed Anne's arm, murmuring gently in her ear. "We'll figure something out, love. I'll even help you look if it will help, but for now you need to rest..."


	42. A Marriage In Crisis Part 21

**Time (41)**

Anne, in her exhaustion couldn't respond, just lying quietly, letting the tears fall. Neither one moved. They stayed there on the sofa until Lestrade realized she had drifted off to sleep. He couldn't bring himself to disturb her, and instead he focused for a while on the rain running silently down the glass balcony doors. The silence in the room enveloped them.

An all too familiar sense of despair and weariness had reasserted its mantle over Lestrade and he felt his shoulders slump. For a long time he sat and thought and wondered sadly what their future held for them.


	43. Mycroftian Encounters Part 1

Before Lestrade Meets Sherlock - Ever wonder what could have taken place prior to Lestrade meeting Sherlock? Here goes nothing!

**Murder (1)**

"You pulled me off an active murder investigation to provide you with what?" Lestrade gaped at the incredible gall of the immaculately dressed man standing before him. "By kidnapping me in broad daylight?"

"If I recall, you voluntarily got into the car, Detective Sergeant." The man replied with infuriating politeness. He examined the tip of his umbrella like it had developed an unsightly imperfection.

"By threatening me? Are you out of your bloody mind?" Lestrade couldn't believe this was happening. "You can't just do that to people! You realize I'm an officer of the law?"


	44. Mycroftian Encounters Part 2

**Suspicious (64)**

The condescending look the man gave Lestrade was enough to curdle milk. "Must we be so dramatic? Your Chief Superintendent's been informed that you'll be discreetly indisposed for a short period of time."

"My Superintendent?" Lestrade angrily protested, eying the stranger suspiciously.

"May I continue?" The man asked Lestrade with an impatient look.

Lestrade glared at him in bewilderment.

"You'll be amply compensated for your time. I simply require you to provide your most difficult unsolved cases to an acquaintance of mine. Something to keep him occupied while he is, how shall I say it, recovering?"


	45. Mycroftian Encounters Part 3

**Cold (40)**

Lestrade blinked, still gaping, as he assessed the information. His chin lifted, eyes smoldering with anger.

"You've spoke to my Super? Pulled me off the murder case of the year by kidnapping me? All to provide a sick friend of yours my cold cases for him to solve? You're out of your bloody mind!"

"Hardly a friend, and if it's a matter of credit for solving the cases that can be dealt with easily enough..." The man replied dryly.

Lestrade stared a moment longer. "Go to hell," he said flatly and turned on his heel to leave.


	46. Mycroftian Encounters Part 4

**Blood (26)**

"Might I remind you, Detective Sergeant, that I can deal with foreign visa issues just as easily as I can pick you up off the street or credit your career with solving past cases?"

Lestrade froze, feeling his blood turn to ice in his veins. He turned back around, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. Consciously aware that his baton was still in his pocket, he took a step towards the stranger. "I don't know who the hell you think you are but you leave my wife out of this!"

The man tipped his head back and laughed.


	47. Mycroftian Encounters Part 5

**Chivalry (47)**

"Ohh! Very quick to defend the lady. And they say chivalry is dead. You're such an anachronistic fellow. How does it feel being out of step with the rest of the world?"

Lestrade's fingers twitched as he seriously contemplated bodily harm.

"I'd think twice about assaulting government officials." The man warned still infuriatingly polite.

"If you think I'll cooperate with you now, you've thought wrong." Lestrade growled.

The man sighed in exaggerated despair, rolling his eyes. "Enough drama, Detective Sergeant, it's so utterly tedious. All I'm asking is for a little assistance. A simple enough request."


	48. Mycroftian Encounters Part 6

**Clench (65)**

"And my answer is just as simple," Lestrade shot back, folding his arms, clenching his fists. He tipped his chin up, looking at the man. "If you'd wanted to make things difficult for my wife, you'd have done it already."

The man laughed, swinging the umbrella down and leaning on it. "Very good, Detective Sergeant, so you obviously can see now that what I am asking is just a request. If you don't wish for credit that can be arranged. What I'm seeking is a distraction for someone else."

"Still doesn't answer why you picked me."


	49. Mycroftian Encounters Part 7

**Bitter (70)**

"Your cold cases provided the most interesting reading compared with your fellow detectives. It's quite obvious that the most difficult cases have been passed along to you for a reason. For such a lackluster group of investigators, you just happen to have a glimpse of intelligence."

Lestrade stared at the man, realizing he was being completely serious. "Oh, well, gee, thanks," he replied bitterly, shaking his head at the utterly surreal situation. He'd actually been kidnapped by one of his own government's officials. And was being asked, oh so politely, to turn over his cold cases to them.


	50. Mycroftian Encounters Part 8

**Struggle (31)**

How very British, Lestrade thought to himself as he studied the infuriating man before him. He struggled with wanting to throttle the stranger or just turning around and walking away. Something bizarrely interesting was occurring and Lestrade found -to his chagrin- that he was wanting to see this farce of a situation through to its end.

He tightened his crossed arms around his chest, reaching a decision.

"All right, before I decide anything, who the hell are you to begin with? You're obviously Whitehall or MI6 or better."

The man smiled at him, infuriatingly vague. "Better." he replied.


	51. Mycroftian Encounters Part 9

**Grasp (56)**

Understanding lit Lestrade's dark eyes as he looked at the man. No wonder he could simply be picked up off the street with impunity. He might be slow, but even he could grasp the depth of the situation.

Yet two people could play this game. His eyes narrowed in contemplation. "Before I go any further I want to know who I'm dealing with."

"What relevance has that to do with anything?" The man fired back.

"I get a name, or you don't get my cold cases." Lestrade replied.

"I could just take them if I wish."


	52. Mycroftian Encounters Part 10

**Shoot (6)**

"You'd've done that by now." Lestrade shot back, sighing in disgust. His gaze never left the other's face. "Tell me who you are and I might consider letting you have some of those files."

The man's look at Lestrade was that of someone who had just eaten sour grapes. Lestrade just smirked at him.

"Very well, Detective Sergeant. My name is Mycroft Holmes."

Lestrade blinked at him for a split second. "Seriously? Give me a break," he exclaimed in disbelief.

Holmes looked at him disapprovingly before settling the curved handle of his umbrella across his arm.


	53. Mycroftian Encounters Part 11

**Sick (76) **

Holmes reached inside his suit jacket, causing Lestrade to tense, ready for anything. He only earned himself a reproachful glare as the man extracted a leather case from his inside pocket.

"I'd show you a driver's license, but they can be so easily faked, as well as warrant cards and various other forms of identification. This, however, is irrefutable and completely impossible to duplicate." He passed the case to Lestrade.

Taking it from him, Lestrade looked at it, and abruptly felt sick. He could live a lifetime and only hear rumours of them much less to even see one.


	54. Mycroftian Encounters Part 12

**Effort (28)**

With effort, Lestrade tore his gaze from the leather case as Holmes politely held a hand out for its return.

"Bloody hell," Lestrade sighed in defeat, handing it back. "An over-glorified James Bond."

"Hardly that." Holmes retorted. "Have we had enough maneuvering around now to continue with our discussion?"

"What's there to continue? You obviously _can_ just walk into the Yard and take what you damn well please!" Lestrade snapped.

"It's so much better to work in a spirit of cooperation, I find..." Holmes replied only to find himself looking at Lestrade's incredulous face.


	55. Mycroftian Encounters Part 13

**Twist (67)**

Lestrade reached up, pinching the bridge of his nose, clenching his eyes shut and succumbing to the raging headache that had been threatening him now for several minutes.

"This day couldn't get any more twisted could it?" He muttered in despair.

"Worse, I'm afraid to inform you." Holmes replied dryly. "You haven't met who these cases are for."

"Is that supposed to be a threat or a warning?" Lestrade's head snapped back up, glaring at the man. How could this possibly get any worse than it already was?

"Both." Holmes warned, tucking the case away.


	56. Mycroftian Encounters Part 14

**Trapped (24)**

He smiled at Lestrade. "Select the most unusual of your files, Detective Sergeant. The more difficult the better and I'll send around the gentleman they are for in a few days to collect them."

"Wait, wait, wait..." Lestrade shook himself, frowning in frustration at being trapped in what was rapidly becoming the most bizarre situation he had ever found himself in.

"You said this person was recovering from something just what -exactly- did you mean by that?"

"Did I say that?" Holmes asked innocently.

Lestrade scowled at him.

Holmes heaved a reluctant sigh, studying his shoes.


	57. Mycroftian Encounters Part 15

**Drugs (62)**

"Well if you must know..." he said in exasperation. "He's recovering from an addiction."

Lestrade blinked at the man as his day became even weirder still. "And you didn't think that was important to tell me before hand? That I'd have to deal with a drug addict?" Lestrade sighed in defeat.

"I hardly see how it could possibly be of any importance to the request I've laid before you."

"Oh no possible importance at all." Lestrade shot back sarcastically.

"You've dealt with enough addicts, I'm quite sure you're capable of one more." Holmes admonished.


	58. Mycroftian Encounters Part 16

**Crack (61)**

"I'm not a bloody counselor! What exactly is this person supposed to be recovering from?" Lestrade snapped angrily.

Holmes looked at Lestrade distastefully. "Methamphetamines," he replied.

"Oh god!" Lestrade groaned. "A bloody crack addict!"

"More, I would say, a destructive experimenter upon himself with chemicals."

"All that is is government legalese for crack addict!" Lestrade snapped.

"Oh no..." Holmes reassured. "I'm quite serious. Sherlock likes to experiment with chemicals. He uses himself as a human..." Holmes paused, saying the words like they left a bad taste in his mouth, "Lab rat."


	59. Mycroftian Encounters Part 17

**Truth (84)**

There fell a deadly, silent, pause between the two of them before Lestrade finally broke it.

"Sherlock?" he growled suspiciously.

Holmes had the grace to actually look embarrassed.

So now the truth was coming out.

"That has to be the name of a brother or other relation." Lestrade said in a deadly calm voice.

Mycroft cleared his throat, "Brother. In fact." he replied.

"Younger brother..." Lestrade stated simply.

"Correct."

"You kidnap me off a street, drop me in the middle of god knows where to become a babysitter to a crack addicted younger brother?"


	60. Mycroftian Encounters Part 18

**Haunt (15)**

"I wouldn't call this baby sitting..." Mycroft replied.

"Better not," Lestrade replied lifting his chin again, defiantly staring at Holmes. "Because that's the last thing I'm going to do!"

"Just supply him with some case files, Detective Sergeant, that's all I request of you."

"That's all you're going to get, mate!" Lestrade fired back. "And I don't want my name attached to any of this whatsoever?"

"As you wish," Holmes replied.

Lestrade just sighed in despair, suddenly feeling like this entire day was going to haunt him for the rest of his life.


End file.
